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Lowland rice paddy soils may accumulate significant amounts of organic matter. Our aim was to investigate the role of prolonged paddy management on the nitrogen (N) status of the soils, and to elucidate the contribution of bacteria and fungi to long-term N accumulation processes. For this purpose, we sampled a chronosequence of 0-2000 years of rice cropping with adjacent non-paddy systems in the Bay of Hangzhou, China. The samples were analyzed for bulk density, total, mineral and microbial N (N mic ), and amino sugars as markers for microbial residues. The results showed that during the first 100 years of land embankment, both paddy and non-paddy soils accumulated N at a rate of up to 61 and 77 kg ha À1 per annum, reaching steady-state conditions after 110-172 years, respectively. Final N stocks in paddy fields exceeded those of the non-paddies by a factor of 1.3. The contribution of amino sugars to total N increased to a maximum of 34 g N kg À1 N in both land-use systems, highlighting a significant accumulation of N in microbial residues of the surface soils. Correspondingly, the ratio of N mic to microbial residue-N decreased to a constant value. In the paddy subsoils, we found that bacterial residues particularly contributed to the pool of microbial residue-N. Nevertheless, the absolute contents of amino sugars in paddy subsoils decreased during the last 1700 years of the chronosequence. We conclude that under paddy cultivation, soil microorganisms may accumulate parts of this N in their residues despite low overall N availability. However, this N accumulation is limited to initial stages of paddy soil development and restricted to the surface horizons, thus challenging its sustainability with future land-use changes.

Rice straw burning has accompanied paddy management for millennia, introducing black carbon (BC) into soil as the residue of incomplete combustion. This study examined the contribution of BC to soil organic matter and the rate at which it accumulates in paddy soils as a result of prolonged paddy management. Soil depth profiles were sampled along a chronosequence of 0-2000 years of rice-wheat rotation systems and adjacent non-paddy systems (50-700 years) in the Bay of Hangzhou (Zhejiang province, China). The soil BC content and its degree of condensation were assessed using benzene-polycarboxylic acids (BPCAs) as geochemical markers. The results showed that despite regular long term BC input, BC only contributed 7-11% of total soil organic carbon (SOC) in the topsoil horizons. Nevertheless, along with SOC, paddy soils accumulated BC with increasing duration of management until 297 years to reach a steady-state of 13 t BC ha(-1). This was 1.8 times more than in non-paddy soils. The fate of BC in paddy soils (0-1 m) could be modeled revealing an average annual input of 44 kg ha(-1) yr(-1), and a mean residence time of 303 years. The subsoils contributed at least 50% to overall BC stocks, which likely derived from periods prior to land embankment and episodic burial of ancient topsoil, as also indicated by BPCA pattern changes. We conclude that there is a significant but limited accumulation of C in charred forms upon prolonged paddy management. The final contribution of BC to total SOC in paddy soils was similar to that in other aerobic ecosystems of the world.

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